腫瘤治療新趨勢: 標靶治療

Due to the improvements of molecular biologic medicine, researches of the cell cycle have been advanced. By targeting these molecules specific to tumor cells, a series of novel biologic agents have been developed. These targeted agents have been approved to be marked by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US. The targeted agent can be divided into four categories based on pharmacologic mechanisms: 1. Protein-tyrosine kinase receptor inhibitors: Through blocking the message transduction pathways of the tumor cells, protein-tyrosine kinase receptor inhibitors limit tumor cells from growth and mutation, e.g. Gefitinib (Iressa). 2. Angiogenesis inhibitors: Blocking the angiogenesis process, angiogenesis inhibitors could stop the growth and metastasis, e.g. Bevacizumab (Avastin). 3. Proteasome inhibitors: Proteasome inhibitors could interrupt the formation of protein of tumor cells and cause the death of the cells, e.g. Brotezomib (Velcade). 4. Immunotherapy: The mechanism of action of immunotherapy is monoclonal antibodies, attacking the specific tumor antigens, e.g. Rituximab (Rituxan). Comparing targeted therapy with traditional cytotoxic chemotherapy, clinical reports verified that patients endured better drug tolerance and fewer side effects. Targeted therapy is an advanced improvement on cancer treatment.